MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Airbridge movers: communication is key

Communication is the name of the game when travelling on the airbridge between Brize Norton and the Falklands, a group from the Royal Air Force have said, particularly if you have special requirements for the flight.

Squadron Leaders Rich Pratley, Mike Stepney and Don Wober made a recent visit to Stanley to meet with councillors and officials about the airbridge between UK and the Falkland Islands.

Penguin News asked about the RAF's passenger handling policies, citing a number of complaints from people who have used the service in recent months.

Sqdn Ldr Pratley - who is based at Brize Norton in Oxfordshire - said one of the messages he is keen to get across is that whilst there is a significant volume of passengers and freight going through Brize Norton, approximately 20,000 passengers a month and 2,000 tonnes of freight, the Falklands airbridge actually contributes a relatively small part of that in terms of volume and freight, but is a significant part of business in terms of profile and importance.

"We are established in terms of man power and resourced in terms of facilities against the requirement to move military personnel through a military airhead. Over recent years there has been an increase in recognition that we have to make the most of the resources we have and actually adapt the way we do business to reflect the type of customer we have coming through, said Sqdn Ldr Pratley. He added, "...even 18 year old soldiers now have different expectations when flying."

Sqdn Ldr Pratley said that over the last 16 months, a significant amount of public money has been used to make the facilities as good as they can including carpets, refurbished seating and a new cafe. He said a considerable sum of non-public money has been invested in things like gaming machines and public telephones, that revenue is gained from which is invested into softer enhancements like internet facilities, vending machines and plasma screen TVs.

"We are striving to improve our level of services in terms of how we handle our passengers." Sqdn Ldr Pratley said one of the difficulties faced are levels of experience in staff who are relatively low in terms of time in their current rank. At the moment somewhere in the region of 50% of his sergeants and corporals have been less than 18 months in their rank which means they have not necessarily developed "people skills" to meet the expectations of the passengers that are often travelling on the route.

"Another challenge we face is that a lot of our business is going out to operational theatres like Iraq and Afghanistan which involves very young soldiers who require a fundamentally different level of service," Sqdn Ldr Pratley said.

With regard to check-in staff, he is trying to provide them with a basic levelof courtesy, service and professionalism that is "subtly different" in terms of what is offered to a fare paying passenger travelling to the Falkland Islands.

He said one of the things they are consistently trying to do is look at how to provide the flow of information to passengers. "I am aware that some of the passengers may feel that we are not always providing the degree of information that they want, sometimes that is error on the part of those individuals briefing, sometimes because the information is physically not available when passengers would wish it. I don believe we will ever get to the perfect solution, but I don't think that should stop us trying."

Sqdn Ldr Pratley said there is undoubtedly a perception that levels of service on the airbridge have decreased in the last six months - a period that has been exceptionally difficult for Brize Norton with runway work which has inevitably affected the level of service provided to passengers. He said a detailed amount of planning was undertaken to try and make sure wherever possible that "any pain in the system is borne by us rather than customers.

"This means that a lot of my staff are working 14 hour days rather than 12 hour days. "We've had some inservicabilities on the route to do with the aircraft, some more self induced than others and it is important to put our hands up and say yes, mistakes have been made." He added, "...no one deliberately runs into an aircraft, mistakes do happen, the down side to the airbridge route is that they are very high profile and have a significantly greater impact."

Sqdn Ldr Pratley said there is still work to do in terms of their ability to deliver the level of service the customer expects, in terms of money constraints, the experience level of staff and most importantly of all the commitments faced operationally elsewhere.

"We constantly have to balance this series of priorities and make the best of the facilities and resources we've got and see if we can concentrate on the softer skills and make the travelling experience a better one for the passenger."

On the subject of seat allocation Sqdn ldr Pratley said there is no distinction between military and civilian passengers.

"We expect to check them in the same way and allocate them a seat according to guidelines we work to. We have an unusual situation on this route because it is a two class configuration and we execute policy that others set. "There have been a number of instances over the past three months or so where unservicability of aircraft or late notice change of aircraft when the computer system that we use to allocate seats electronically cannot cope with a different configuration of seats," said Sqdn Ldr Pratley.

He said standard seating policy is to seat families and those passengers withspecial requirements first, passengers in business class next, (for a loading reason), next would be those upstairs or in the ?bubble' and then by seat or row regardless of rank or otherwise, from the rear of the aircraft.

Sqdn Ldr Pratley explained that a situation had arisen when seating was based on policy straight out of the JSPU800, a military document which says officers are to be seated first, Warrant Officers and NCOs second followed by all other ranks. He said it does not take into account that civilians are on the flight. In the absence of any other policy the standard setting was used and civilians were boarded last.

Sqdn Ldr Mike Stepney - who is based at Mount Pleasant - said it is a misconception that the Air Force have chosen to go with a "free seating" policy, adding, "the only time we use it is if it is physically impossible to pre-edit that flight and assign each passenger a seat." He said that when the decision is taken on the aircraft to free seat it gives the impression of "a free for all" and undermines the work that has been undertaken.

"The message is that it is not a free for all and civilians are not second class citizens, it is a well thought out process that staff spend a lot of time with. Pre seating is better for the passenger too."

When asked what the policy for medical passengers is Sqdn Ldr Stepney said there is no reason why they should not be taken out first and urged any passengers with special requirements to have it noted when they make their booking. "It will then be picked up by the check-in staff and it will allow them to be called forward. He suggested that passengers confirm or mention their requirements with check in staff at either Mount Pleasant or Brize Norton and get a letter from the doctor specifying that you are travelling for medical treatment, adding, "help us to help you."

Sqdn Ldr Pratley said, "it comes down to communication, my staff would never deliberately make a mistake, but on a number of incidents the problem has been the source of information."

Sqdn Ldr Stepney added that even if someone is not that confident about getting up the steps on their own, or getting to the aircraft while carrying their own bag there is nothing to stop them highlighting the problem during the booking process so that check in staff will be aware of their needs when they arrive at the desk.

Sqdn Ldr Pratley said that when commercial aircraft first started on the Falklands route with opportunity for larger seats, they had a whole host of people, military and civilian, pitching up at the desk saying that they had a medical condition that required a bigger seat. He said the system is in place to help people not to be abused.

"We are constantly looking at what we have got and how to make better use of it...the key to all this is better communication." (PN)